Welcome to the definitive guide to house sitting in Durham, North Carolina. In this article, I will outline everything you need to know about the Durham house sitting process, from applying to enjoying.
We spent 3 amazing months in Durham across the spring and summer of 2023. It was a terrific experience and one we hope to replicate again in the near future.
We’ve got lots to discuss, so let’s get into the Durham house sitting guide!
Why Everybody Should Visit Durham
Often overshadowed by its bigger brothers Raleigh, the state capital, and Charlotte, Durham has plenty of its own charm to warrant a lengthy stay. A lot of historic industry has roots in Durham, predominantly the cigarette industry. Much of this now-defunct infrastructure is still visible but has been repurposed into cool bars, sweet loft apartments, and communal grounds.
Subsequently, Durham has a social scene that is jam-packed with great spots and independent breweries. Regular neighborhood and city events take place as well as a twice-weekly farmers market. The leafy suburban streets are like something out of an American movie. In fact, Durham was in a Hollywood movie – Bull Durham starring Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon.
The Durham baseball team, The Bulls, is Tripple A-affiliated and it’s a great all-American past-time to go and watch them play. Durham is a very walkable city that experiences very hot summers. It is surrounded by some amazing natural beauty and has some of the friendliest locals we’ve ever met.
House Sitting in Durham
I think you’ll be surprised by the number and variety of opportunities for house sitting in Durham and North Carolina. It’s not a place that was ever on our radar but we’re so glad that the right sit came up at the right time.
My Experience of House Sitting in Durham
You can read extensively about our time in Durham in my previous blog – A Review of 5 Amazing House Sitting Experiences. Although in that article I said I’d ranked the sits in no particular order, I’ve shown my hand by putting Durham first in that list and then declaring it as my favorite house sit to date on the Our Story section of the BATWD website.
There was some karmic connection with Durham and numerous strange events that brought about our time there. You’ll read all about it in my review blog. We ended up spending almost 3-months in North Carolina, most of it in Durham, and loved it all.
We looked after Ladybug the Airedale, a wonderful dog to care for. Also present were Tonks and Rango, two house cats that ruled the upstairs of the house. It was a big, beautiful, suburban home walkable to all of Durham’s key locations. Despite the occasional epic thunderstorm, we enjoyed countless days of sunshine, hot weather, and outdoor pursuits.
House Sitting Opportunities in Durham, North Carolina
After discovering Durham as a location I continue to be stunned by the number of house sitting opportunities that are available in the area. During our stay, 3 listings on the same street came up!
North Carolina is a huge state, but at the time of writing this blog, there are over 200 active listings in NC accepting house sit applications. Over 60 of these are in Durham and range from a few nights caring for a shy house cat to 2 months minding a menagerie of pets on a suburban ranch on the outskirts of the city.
Whatever your house sitting needs, with this many listings you will find the right fit in Durham.
How to Secure a Durham House Sit
To apply and secure a house sit in Durham you’ll need to sign up to a house sitting website. Our go-to website is Trusted Housesitters but numerous others exist and it’s a good idea to have a couple of different options in your back pocket. This is especially true if you plan to travel full-time or use house sitting extensively.
Start browsing thousands of house sits with a free Trusted Housesitters membership. It takes seconds to sign up and just an email address to get going, click here.
Full Trusted Housesitters memberships start at $129/year. This includes an unlimited amount of house sits during that time and when you consider the average cost of a basic hotel room these days, it’s an absolute bargain. Sites like Mind My House ($29/year) and House Sitters America ($49/year) are cheaper but generally have fewer listings.
Use code BEACHES25 at checkout to save 25% on any Trusted Housesitters membership when you sign up. Click here to get started.
Building a Profile
All house sitting websites have a feature that allows you to create a profile. This is where you can tell potential hosts all about your skills as a house sitter, your reasons for wanting to house sit, and how great of a person you are.
This is also the place to upload lots of pictures, ideally with you and a variety of pets, or in some kind of friendly responsible-looking situation. Find or take good photos for your profile, don’t use Saturday night’s 3 am shots from your weekend out partying!
Even when starting out, in lieu of any official reviews, Trusted Housesitters allows for 3 character references. So find 3 good friends or perhaps people you have met via other exchanges to write you a thorough testimonial.
Setting Alerts and Applying
Liking your favorite properties and saving your search filter can really help identify properties that suit your preferences. You can then be alerted when the perfect property in Durham comes online.
Write a friendly and personalized application for each listing. Don’t be tempted to blanket spam hosts with a generic email, they can spot this a mile away and will reject it. Take time to read a listing and include any specifics that are mentioned. Read more about how to apply for house sits in my previous article – The Informative Guide to Applying for a House Sit.
What to Expect in Durham, NC
Durham exceeded all of my expectations. I had hoped for a true American experience and boy did we get that! We met so many friendly locals, went to numerous local events, and even volunteered at a local food pantry.
The vibe in Durham is open and welcoming to all. I am aware that Durham, not many years ago, had a bit of a reputation for not being the best place to live. But it has worked hard to turn this around. At no point did we feel anything other than completely comfortable and safe.
Durham has all the facilities and amenities of a big city while still feeling like a small town. The traffic is never too crazy, the streets are never too busy to walk on, and there’s so much going on that you’ll never get bored.
Best Durham Bars
Now let’s talk about the fun stuff. Having saved a fortune on your accommodation by house sitting, you’ll have plenty to spend in the Durham bars, of which there are plenty! Here are just a couple of my top picks.
Best Durham Bars
- The Boxcar Bar + Arcade. Situated in Old Downtown Durham, in an area that is ripe with modernization, Boxcar Bar + Arcade is a fantastic fun place to hang out. Here you’ll find dozens of retro gaming machines, ping pong, pool, corn holing, live music, an in-house pizza joint, an epic beer garden, daily happy hours, and some of the coldest beer and A/C in town. Plus it’s dog-friendly!
- 106 Main. This is a hidden gem of a bar that thankfully we found on our first weekend in Durham. 106 Main has the cheapest beers in town, and several nights a week offers free food. A rotating menu of help-yourself burgers, chili, and hotdogs is a great treat with a few cold beers a couple of nights a week. It’s a dark-dive bar but friendly and welcoming to everyone
- Pour Taproom. Durham’s pour-you-own beer bar quickly became one of my favorite spots in town. The fantastic rotating taps, daily happy hours, and great people-watching beer garden make Pour an ideal drinking location. They also have great food via an outsourced kitchen and regular live events.
Best Brew Bars in Durham
Durham has more brew bars in a concentrated area than any city I have ever visited. So, as an extra special bonus to the Definitive Guide to House Sitting in Durham, here is a selection of my favorite breweries in the city.
Best Durham Breweries
- Bull City Burger and Brewery. Located right in the heart of the city, Bull City Burger and Brewery has open bench-style seating and offers a menu of excellent locally brewed beers that tick all the boxes for every kind of beer drinker. The food here is amazing too and I enjoyed visiting so much that I even bought some merch!
- Durty Bull Brewing Company. Having the surname Bull provides many great photo opportunities in Bull City, perhaps none better than at Durty Bull. The two-room bar has a cozy and inviting vibe with open doors into the actual brewery where the beer is made. Lots of board games, social events, an N64, beer specials, and a subtle Simpson’s theme secure it top marks from me.
- Fullsteam. The first bar we ever went to in Durham, Fullsteam was a short walk from our house sitting placement. This bar area with A/C is quite small but the huge hangar-like seating area with industrial-sized fans and enormous beer distillers is an epic place to knock back a few beers. Fullsteam beers are sold all over North Carolina.
Best Places to Eat in Durham
North Carolina is famous for its distinctive take on Southern dining, in particular barbeque. Hannah wrote an entire article on the 15 Best BBQ Spots in Durham for our friends at Goats on the Road. Here are just a few of my favorites.
Best Places to Eat
- The Blue Note Grill. A Durham institution, The Blue Note Grill has an epic menu of southern delights and barbecue treats. It’s one very cool setting with live music 5-night-a-week, every night it is open. Enjoy some great bands and musicians and you chow down on the best food in Durham.
- Elmo’s Diner. Another Durham institution! No trip to Durham is complete without a trip or 5 to Elmo’s Diner. Situated up on 9th Street, which is another great area for bars and eateries, Elmo’s has been around for over two decades and is a quintessential and authentic American diner experience.
- Mavericks Smokehouse and Taproom. My local bar for almost 3 months was Mavericks. On top of an excellent array of affordable beer options, they also have some of the best barbecue food in Durham. They also offer a terrific weekday lunch special for under $10 and have an excellent patio that looks out onto the Brightleaf Building.
Best Things to Do in Durham
If you’re a fan of hiking, Durham is a dream. Again, check out Hannah’s previous article for GOTR – The 15 Best Hikes in Durham. There are also a ton of great cultural attractions and nearby day trips to keep Durham house sitters occupied.
Best Things to Do in Durham
- Hike the American Tobacco Trail. The former rail corridor that famously imported raw materials and exported cigarettes around the world from Durham’s city center is a great cultural hike. It’s dotted with cool architecture, former industrial buildings, and platforms, and can be joined and exited at numerous access points.
- Visit iconic neighboring cities. Durham is in a great location for exploring the great cities of Raleigh (40 mins), Richmond, VA (2.5 hours), and Charlotte (2.5 hours) by car. The nation’s capital Washington D.C. is a good 4-hour drive but is a fun scenic journey on an Amtrak train. Wilmington and Carolina Beach are outstanding weekend retreats and are only around a 2.5-hour drive away.
- Watch the Durham Bulls. The Tripple-A affiliated baseball team has a fantastic stadium right in the center of the city. It’s a great day out and costs less than you might think to watch some high-quality baseball. We went 3 times and never paid more than $12 for a ticket. They have varying food specials, family deals, and $5 beer nights.
For more great ideas of things to do in Durham, NC click here!
Conclusion
Well writing this definitive guide to house sitting in Durham has sure made me miss the place. It was such a wonderful experience and it’s high on our list of places to return to as soon as we can.
As a hotbed for house sitting listings, Durham presents itself as an ideal place to secure your next placement. Once there, there are so many fun things to enjoy that your time will fly by, just like our 3 months did.
Happy house sitting in Durham!
*Owners consent given to show property and pets